HP to spin off PC business to focus on enterprise software

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  • Reply 21 of 253
    Meanwhile on another front...



    Here's an interesting read:





    http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/



    Quote:

    As odd as it may seem, it's increasingly likely that -- come March 2012 -- Google could be trying to consummate the acquisition of a company that's legally barred from importing Android devices into the United States. How's that for a dowry?





    Kiss you? I shouldn't even be in bed with you!
  • Reply 22 of 253
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rp2011 View Post


    This is bad news for all of us. We need strong competition to drive innovation and competitive pricing. Hopefully the spun off HP can survive and thrive. Or be sold to capable hands.



    I disagree. Apple's prices are more competitive now than they've ever been. I don't even recommend or try to push Apple products on people anymore. Apple launches are crowded enough as it is, and it's only getting worse. I actually recommend windows, android and even webos to people I meet who I don't like, and I do it with a serious face.



    Where is the innovation coming from other companies? I just see a bunch of talentless monkey copycats trying to cash in on the iPad craze, and failing miserably while trying. Apple does what it does regardless of what others are doing.



    I don't buy into the "Apple needs competition to drive innovation and competitive pricing" argument. If a certain competitor is actually innovating, then fine, but the evidence tells me that most companies are not innovating at all, and some of them deserve to go bankrupt and die off. That is evolution.
  • Reply 23 of 253
    HP wants to get rid of its PC operations like Motorola got rid of its mobile division. Maybe they should advertise their patent treasure chest.
  • Reply 24 of 253
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cvaldes1831 View Post


    Not necessarily.



    In my earlier example, I mentioned HP spinning off Agilent in 1999. Agilent is still a separate corporation and trades publicly on the NYSE under the symbol A. No one acquired Agilent.



    The attractiveness of the spun-off PC unit will be based on several factors, including things like the patent portfolio, transfer rights to the HP brand, etc. My guess is that some Chinese computer company would be most interested in picking up the brand.



    I don't know the details of the Agilent spin off, but one way this works is that shareholders of HP stock on a certain date are given shares in the new company (it could be as simple as "if you have one share of HP, you now own one share of HP and one share of HP PC." but some other ratio is possible; makes no difference). From that point onward, the new company is a separate entity with its own board of directors, employees, etc. The shareholders are free to sell their shares or whatever. The important point is that the new "spin off" need not (and probably won't) be a subsidiary of the original HP. So by spinning off the slow-growth part of the business, the part that's left will (in percentage terms) grow faster than the original company.



    I don't see any reason to suspect that the server business would be included in the spin off.
  • Reply 25 of 253
    This shows up one of the big problems with the way executive compensation works these days. Carly Fiorina did substantial damage to HP. She spun off products that were HPs bread and butter (and in the form of Agilent, are still a success) in a demented drive to be in the newer, more exciting PC business.



    Long term result, having to get rid of the monster she created.



    Meanwhile, she continues to enjoy the extreme wealth given to her for what turned out to be poor performance.



    I have no problem with top executives getting stinking rich - Steve Jobs for example fully deserves it, as do Brin & Page (even though I increasingly hate Google), but there are so many people who have been grossly over compensated.
  • Reply 26 of 253
    malaxmalax Posts: 1,598member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by quinney View Post


    And who will replace HPQ in the Dow Jones Industrials?



    Hmm... I wonder what large market-leading, influential company could be added if HP (or one of the other 30) is moved. That's a tough one.
  • Reply 27 of 253
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by boubou1961 View Post


    HP wants to get rid of its PC operations like Motorola got rid of its mobile division. Maybe they should advertise their patent treasure chest.



    I wonder if they have the 'Compaq Napkin' in a glass case at HP HQ? I can't think of anything else original they'd have let alone patents, but I guess you never know.
  • Reply 28 of 253
    rbryanhrbryanh Posts: 263member
    Watching the giants fall is unnerving, if only because the last one standing will inevitably become a monster. Power and corruption are two aspects of the same phenomenon. Within the next 5 years, Apple's and Google's abuses will make the worst of Microsoft look like Reagan did when compared to W.
  • Reply 29 of 253
    yuusharoyuusharo Posts: 311member
    Hold on a second. Where did AppleInsider get the idea that HP was killing off WebOS? No other outlet is reporting that, and those claims aren't answered or sourced here.



    Jumping the gun much, AI?
  • Reply 30 of 253
    macinthe408macinthe408 Posts: 1,050member


    I think AI should update their style guide so that the picture of Apple's new "spaceship" is appended to every article, sort of like a halo. The juxtaposition is amplified when the article in question has nothing to do with the new Apple HQ, for example, when talking about the demise of HP's webOS division.



    I have provided a sample. Bathe in the magnificent light of my post! Behold the Apple Halo!
  • Reply 31 of 253
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson View Post


    This shows up one of the big problems with the way executive compensation works these days. Carly Fiorina did substantial damage to HP. She spun off products that were HPs bread and butter (and in the form of Agilent, are still a success) in a demented drive to be in the newer, more exciting PC business.



    Long term result, having to get rid of the monster she created.



    Meanwhile, she continues to enjoy the extreme wealth given to her for what turned out to be poor performance.



    I have no problem with top executives getting stinking rich - Steve Jobs for example fully deserves it, as do Brin & Page (even though I increasingly hate Google), but there are so many people who have been grossly over compensated.





    Somewhat Off Topic....



    For an interesting read of how to do it wrong:



    The Icarus Factor: The Rise and Fall of Edgar Bronfman, Jr



    There are several other excellent books about him.





    Bronfman took over the Seagrams Empire at its height -- and spun-off everything, badly. He considered himself a Media Mogul and Business Tycoon the stature of Steve Jobs -- he absolutely destroyed everything he touched



    If ever the world needed a bad example - Efer Bronfman is it!
  • Reply 32 of 253
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    The iPad is winning.



    Well, if you call grinding your competition into dust, throwing them into open graves, pissing on them, burying them in flaming horse manure and leaving nothing behind but scorched earth 'winning', then, yes. It's winning.
  • Reply 33 of 253
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    HP's server business is fine. In fact I believe this move is

    being made so that they can focus on Enterprise hardware and software.



    Fact is even if you make the low end desktops it doesn't necessarily mean that

    you capture the desktop/notebook market because you've got the servers installed.



    HP has finally thrown in the towel and shoveling a bunch of low end hardware that eventually

    costs them money in support costs.



    Apple knew this a long time ago. You go after the people that can afford to buy right stuff

    the first time.
  • Reply 34 of 253
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AaronJ View Post


    Does "spin off" mean something along the lines of what IBM did with Lenovo? Or does it means something else entirely?



    The answers you've gotten are incomplete. A spin-off is a mechanistic action. Focusing on the results (is it like agilent? Is it like Lenovo?) only confuses the issue.



    Specifically, a spin-off occurs when a company restructures operations in such a way that a new entity is created which has its own shares. Specifically, Company A has a subsidiary or division (call it Company B). Company B is wholly part of Company A and the results are reported as part of Company A's results.



    Now, Company A spins off Company B. That means that there are now shares in Company B which are tied directly to company B. So, when Company A reports their operating results, Company B is not included.



    This can be for any number of reasons. Often, it is done before selling Company B (Lenovo). Or, it can be done to shelter Company A from liability for some reason. Or because Company A thinks that their relationship is holding Company B back from achieving its full potential. Or any number of other reasons.



    It becomes more complex than that. When Company A spins off Company B, Company A can sell all of the stock, some of the stock, or none of the stock. So it is entirely possible for Company B to now be an independent company, but still fully owned by Company A (different than a subsidiary because a subsidiary does not have its own stock). The difference is that if Company A owns Company B's stock, the results would now typically (although not always) be reported as investment income rather than operating income.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by noexpectations View Post


    A Spin Off is the first step for another company to purchase part of your business. So, the million dollar question is, who is going to buy the HP PC Division?



    Not at all. See above. There are plenty of examples where subsidiaries or divisions are spun off without selling the company.
  • Reply 35 of 253
    "HP, a storied Silicon Valley icon that dominates the personal computing industry, announced it will discontinue the WebOS-based "TouchPad" tablet computer and phones, which have failed to catch on with consumers." - Reuters



    Where's all those people who said this week that with Google purchasing Moto, these vendors will go for WebOS instead? And where's all those people who said Samsung would leave Android and focus on it's own Bada OS?



    It ain't happening people.
  • Reply 36 of 253
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JimDreamworx View Post


    Some say Apple should buy Dell, but the synergy may be ripe for HP.



    Though it is expensive.



    What does Dell have that Apple could use? From what I can see Apple could follow in Dell's footsteps of making cheap 'PCs' is they chose to. Luckily for us they don't.
  • Reply 37 of 253
    rp2011rp2011 Posts: 159member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    The reality is that the PC is an old technology and becoming an outdated business model. For future competition, others need to develop viable technologies and businesses that will meet the future demands of the market.



    I agree. I just hoped HP was up to the challenge and evolve as required. Maybe this was the best option at hand for them since most PC and phone manufacturers other than Apple were chasing each others ass for small margins or even losses.
  • Reply 38 of 253
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post




    I think AI should update their style guide so that the picture of Apple's new "spaceship" is appended to every article, sort of like a halo. The juxtaposition is amplified when the article in question has nothing to do with the new Apple HQ, for example, when talking about the demise of HP's webOS division.



    I have provided a sample. Bathe in the magnificent light of my post! Behold the Apple Halo!



    Plus, the whole thing floats a couple meters off the ground. Surprised no one's mentioned that. (Don't tell that to Steve. He might actually try it.)
  • Reply 39 of 253
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    Somewhat Off Topic....



    For an interesting read of how to do it wrong:



    The Icarus Factor: The Rise and Fall of Edgar Bronfman, Jr



    Thanks for the tip - I will have to track down a copy.
  • Reply 40 of 253
    cvaldes1831cvaldes1831 Posts: 1,832member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by malax View Post


    Hmm... I wonder what large market-leading, influential company could be added if HP (or one of the other 30) is moved. That's a tough one.



    Berkshire-Hathaway would be the most credible candidate.
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